TechPression

Tag: Internet Speed

  • Nigeria gets 7th in internet speed among African countries

    Nigeria gets 7th in internet speed among African countries

    With an average download speed of 27.62 Mbps, Nigeria has risen to seventh among Sub-Saharan African nations with the fastest internet speed.

    This is based on the 2024 Global Broadband Speed Report, which Cable.co.uk published on Tuesday.

    According to tests of internet speeds carried out in 220 countries, Nigeria climbed up the world speed rankings from 133rd in 2023 to 132nd in 2024.

    Nigeria was seventh on the African continent for internet speed, behind six other nations.

    Read also: Telecoms report a 2.4% drop in voice subscriptions due to NIN/SIM linkage

    These six nations—South Africa, Rwanda, Mauritius, South Africa, Réunion, and Botswana—acquired the top six positions on the continent. Interestingly, Réunion stood out as the best in Sub-Saharan Africa with an astounding 63.29 Mbps average internet speed. With an average internet speed of 42.42 Mbps, South Africa came in second place, not far behind.

    The remaining nations, which exceeded Nigeria’s average speed, included Eswatini, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Botswana. All of these nations also displayed comparatively fast internet speeds.

    This ranking demonstrates the differences in internet connectivity and infrastructure among African nations, with Nigeria seeking to close the gap and enhance its digital environment.

    According to the report, the average internet speed in Africa was 14.99 Mbps, making Africa the region with the second-lowest internet speed globally.

    Global Progress on how the world is bridging the digital Speed Gap

    According to the study, Iceland has the fastest broadband worldwide after analysing around 1.5 billion high-speed tests conducted globally.

    The nation’s average internet speed was 279.55 Mbps, second only to Jersey, a country in Western Europe, at 273.51 Mbps. Asia’s Macao ranked third globally in internet speed at 234.74 Mbps.

    Based on the report, 35 countries failed to achieve average speeds of 10Mbps or greater, the speed deemed by UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom to be the minimum required to cope with the needs of a typical family or small business.

    This is a decrease from the 48 nations in 2023, the 67 countries in 2022, and the 94 countries in 2021, suggesting that considerable speed increases are still being made in many regions of the world.

    Read also: WATRA promotes infrastructure sharing in West Africa

    Nigeria’s Internet Boost with 5G and Starlink

    Nigeria is now working to expand the number of Nigerians who can access the internet through its National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020–2025) and to boost internet connection speed. Even though the plan’s internet speed targets have been missed in some cases, the nation appears to be performing well overall.

    Nigeria’s internet speed is predicted to reach 15 Mbps in urban areas and 5 Mbps in rural areas by 2023, surpassing the global record of 27.62 Mbps.

    The improvement in internet speed, though still limited to major cities, could be attributed to MTN and Airtel’s launch of 5G.

    The entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink is also helping to boost internet access and speed in the country. According to users, Starlink currently delivers over 50Mbps in Nigeria’s urban and rural areas.

    The introduction of 5G by MTN and Airtel may be to blame for the increase in internet speed, but it is still only present in large cities.

    The launch of Elon Musk’s Starlink also contributes to increased national internet speed and access. Users claim Starlink provides over 50Mbps in Nigeria’s rural and urban areas.

  • Rwanda Leads Africa In Internet Speed

    Rwanda Leads Africa In Internet Speed

     

    Rwanda has been ranked as the leading low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa with the fastest broadband speed, with Madagascar taking 2nd place.

    This was disclosed in the latest Global Innovation Index (GII) report released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

    The report shows that Rwanda performs significantly above average in six pillars in the low-income group economies. The six pillars used in measuring this include institution, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, as well as knowledge and technology outputs.

    In Sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda performs above the regional average in three pillars; institutions, human capital and research, and infrastructure.

    According to the research, Rwanda’s performance exceeds expectations for its level of development when measured in terms of GDP but falls short when compared to innovative investments in terms of outputs.

    In comparison to the GII reports from 2020 and 2019, the 2021 study reveals that Rwanda performs better in terms of innovation inputs than innovation outputs.

    By assessing the innovation performance of 132 economies and identifying both innovation strengths and shortcomings, it exposes the most innovative economies worldwide.

    The most inventive nations in Africa, according to the GII’s 15th edition, are Mauritius, South Africa, and Morocco, all of which have greatly improved their standing relative to developed economies in recent years.

    Read also: Zimbabwe Begins Fibre Optic Project, Prepares To Become Africa’s Internet Hub

    Under the lower-middle income category, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe exceeded expectations, whilst Mozambique and Burundi “outperformed on innovation relative to their development” under the low-income category.

    The GII’s 2022 edition, which displays productivity, growth, and other changing issues, analyzes the most recent global breakthroughs and trends against an ongoing Covid-19 epidemic.

    The future of innovation-driven growth is the theme of this edition, and it offers an opinion on whether stagnation and low productivity growth will continue.

    Rwanda’s Ranking A Decade Ago

    A decade ago, Rwanda overtook Ghana and became the country with the fastest broadband Internet in Africa, according to statistics from Ookla’s NetIndex.

    Then, the 20 report showed that Rwanda had download speeds of up to 7.28 Mbps from 3.28 Mbps six months earlier, emerging 65th in the world.

    The then Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, welcomed the development, although he said there is a lot more than Rwanda needs to do.

    “This shows that our efforts are paying off, although we still need to do more in the area of affordability of broadband.

    “Rwanda’s performance in broadband speed is a result of deliberate efforts of the government that invested in fibre optic rollout and purchase of capacity,” said Nsengimana.

    He added that part of the plan to make broadband affordable reduced the cost from US$700 Mbps to US$ 125 Mbps during peak hours and US$60 off-peak.

    What Is The World Intellectual Property Organisation?

    WIPO serves as a global forum for information, cooperation, and services related to intellectual property (IP). It is a self-supporting organisation of the UN with 193 member nations that assists governments, corporations, and society in realising the advantages of IP.

    The goal of the organisation is to take the lead in creating a fair and efficient international IP system that fosters creativity and innovation for the good of all. WIPO was founded in 1967 and had a mission, regulatory bodies, and processes outlined in the WIPO Convention.

    It provides a policy platform for developing fair international IP laws for a changing world, international services for defending IP internationally and settling legal disputes, as well as technical infrastructure for tying IP systems together and exchanging knowledge.

    To help all nations use IP for the development of their economies, societies, and cultures, WIPO also offers cooperation and capacity-building programs. It provides a global source of IP knowledge.

    The headquarters of WIPO, a division of the UN, is located in Geneva, Switzerland.